Hindered Love (A Severus snape love story)

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Miss Bell,

Meet me at midnight.

You know where.

 

The hastily written letter that Hestia was reading whilst sprawled across her bed wasn't even signed. She knew who had sent it though.

"Give me that!" She screamed as someone tugged the letter roughly from her shaking hands. She was still disgruntled from the meeting with Professor Dumbledore and Severus earlier today. After running to her room, she had locked herself in, refusing to come to lessons. No-one tried to bring her out of her squalor and left her alone. They all believed that she was afraid of seeing Professor Snape after what he supposedly did to her. She had just made him seem more guilty than he actually was.

"Why?" Elizabeth grinned, holding the letter just out of reach. "Unless you have something to hide?"

"No! no... Just give it back!"

"It's a love letter from Professor Snape, isn't it? The little creep."

"You SHUT UP about him, ok?" Hestia hissed, walking towards Elizabeth who stared uncertainly at her before realising the menace in her voice. She began backing away, Hestia striding ever closer, until her back hit the wall. Hestia continued walking until she was up in Elizabeth's face. Feeling foolishly brave she humiliated the slightly unhinged girl further.

"Draco always said that you were interested in our Potions Professor. I never realised how serious it was."

"You know nothing happened!" Hestia screamed, causing the sleeping girls scattered across the room to stir slightly before they settled back to sleep beneath the sparkling green covers.

"Do I?"

"It was Draco. He's lying! It was him who attacked me, not Severus."

"Severus? On first name basis now are we?"

"Slip of the tongue." Hestia sneered, her eyes sparkling with newly found hatred. "You must have realised by now how much of a sneak Draco is? He's fooled you all! What with that pathetic story about Snape. Don't you know that it was him who kissed me? I was saved by Severus, from Draco, not the other way round."

"Don't you dare talk about Draco like that! Especially after he saved you! Honestly, you'd think that you'd have a little more grattitude, but I guess you are still upset that you split up with him."

"We weren't even going out!"

"Of course not. Draco said that you kept on telling everyone that. It's like you were embarrassed about your relationship or something."

Hestia swore loudly before storming from the room, golden hair billowing angrily behind her. Elizabeth grinned, still holding the letter that she intended to give to Draco in her hand.

*~*~*~*~*~*

If someone living in Spinners end had looked out onto the street at that moment, they would have seen a cloaked figure emerge from the darkness with a loud popping sound. The person's face was hidden beneath the dark hood, but a strip of luminescent hair was trailing from the cloth. She strode with purpose towards the rather neglected house sandwiched between two pristine cottages.

Severus was pacing in his room, long black hair hanging limply down his pale face drawn with anxiety. His heels clacked across the wooden floorboards, the sound resonating throughout the empty room. He checked the ornate clock on the mantelpiece. Hestia was late.

His fuming was interrupted by a short burst of knocking on the door further down the hall. Severus slipped down the stairs, black cape dragging behind him. He reached the door and paused for a moment, seeming to consider whether or not to let the insistent knocker in.

Hestia all but stumbled through the door as Severus swung it open. He scowled into the darkness, his eyes scouring the empty street for any sign of life. Apart from the few cats that prowled around the overturned bins, there was none.

"Were you followed?" He asked the cloaked figure quietly. Hestia lifted her hood, hair spilling wildly over the ragged, black fabric. Her eyes had lost the usual warm sparkle as she smiled weakly.

"I don't think so. Some prefect tried to stop me leaving the castle, but I soon shut him up." Severus raised an eyebrow, to which Hestia just frowned angrily. "Not like that. I just told him that you wanted to see me... He seemed a bit apprehensive at first, no guessing why, but he let me go."

The professor sighed exasperatedly before pointing to the stairs, Hestia meekly pulled herself up and strode into the slightly damp room at the top. Severus followed then strode over to the plush armchair facing the fire and sank down into the comforting upholstery.

Hestia pulled the heavy cloak from her shoulders and laid it carefully across the immaculate bed linen before walking over to the Professor. She stood in front of him and smiled before turning round and sitting on the floor, her back resting on the armchair. Severus picked up a lock of her hair which was splayed across his lap and twirled it round his fingers absentmindedly. They sat in silence, the only noise coming from the crackling fire that rested in the fireplace before them, steadily heating up the room.

Hestia broke the silence by asking Severus an nervous question.

"What has Dumbledore said to you?" She whispered, reaching a hand up to grab Severus' own.

"He knows Hestia. He knows what we've done."

"You told him?" She hissed incredulously.

"No, of course not. I wanted it to remain a secret as much as you. It seems that Dumbledore was able to see into your mind when you came to talk to him." Hestia swallowed guiltily.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, it's all my fault... Maybe if I hadn't of flirted so shamelessly with Draco then none of this would have happened."

"How do you mean?"

"Draco wouldn't have wanted me to like him. He wouldn't have tried to kiss me, so then we would never have come back here and we would never have..."

"You mean to say that you regret what we've done? Do you wish that we had never done it?"

"No, of course not! I'm just so confused... You might lose your job because of me! and all the respect that came with it. I just couldn't have people thinking that you had done such dreadful things... It's like a massive burden... I never asked for this to happen."

"Maybe we should discontinue our relationship?" Severus sneered rather feistily.

"Severus NO! Please don't be like this..."

"Like what? Upset that I may be losing the only thing that matters to me? Just because you decided to have a little school girl crush, I'm going to lose my job! No-one will ever talk to me again, do you realise that? Maybe we just shouldn't see each other again. It's better that way."

Hestia leapt from the floor, Severus pulling his hand out of the way just in time. She glowered at him, trying to hide the tears beginning to well in her eyes. She leant forwards until their noses were almost touching and whispered.

"You know it's not," Before leaning in and kissing him deeply on the lips. Severus held her tightly into him, his hands pinning her to his stomach. She lifted her hands so that they could rake through his dark knotted hair. She pulled away, a small, gratified smile on her face. "It would be too hard."

Severus nodded, a minute smile creeping onto the corners of his lips. He moved so that there was a small space for Hestia to sink into. He wrapped an arm around her waist whilst she rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. They sat in contented silence whilst the fire fizzled out to a few glowing embers.